The present invention relates to cargo boxes for utility vehicles and more particularly to tailgate assemblies for cargo boxes.
Many utility vehicles are provided with a cargo box for transportation of various items, for example, boxes, packages, tools, soil or debris. The cargo box generally comprises a support deck with rigid, substantially vertical walls extending therefrom about a significant extent of its perimeter. A tailgate is connected along the remainder of the perimeter to define an enclosed cargo area. The tailgate is pivotally connected such that it can be opened to allow easier loading and unloading of the cargo box.
Many prior art tailgate assemblies require hand tools to install and remove the tailgate. This can be time consuming and costly, particularly when the cargo boxes are being mass produced. Some prior art designs do allow assembly and removal without hand tools, but they generally use pins that are extended through aligned holes in the tailgate and side wall or a bracket attached thereto. Again, it can be time consuming to align the holes and insert the pin during assembly. To remove the tailgate, the pin must be pulled out, and this can be difficult if the pins rust and bind in place.
Additionally, once the tailgate is pivotally connected, a latch mechanism is utilized to lock the tailgate in a closed position. The latch mechanism should be reliable, yet easily released for opening of the tailgate. It is also desirable that the closed tailgate rigidly interconnect the side walls. This is important when a load in the cargo box applies a force to the side wall. Without such a mechanism, the end of the tailgate needs to be excessively strong to resist bending. Many existing designs incorporate the latching and stabilizing functions into a single device. However, if a load applies a force to the side wall, the force may in turn be translated to the lock mechanism which can jam the latch mechanism and prevent easy opening of the tailgate.
The present invention includes a tailgate assembly for a cargo box having a support deck and a wall structure extending therefrom. The tailgate assembly comprises a pair of brackets positioned along the wall structure at spaced apart locations and a tailgate pivotally mounted between the brackets and releasably securable to the wall structure via a latch mechanism.
In a first aspect of the invention, at least one of the brackets includes a configured slot having an open entry communicating with a substantially closed retainment area and the other bracket has a receiving opening. The slot is configured such that at least a portion of the retainment area is lower than the entry. The tailgate is mounted without tools by positioning pins extending from each side of the tailgate into the receiving opening and slot.
In a second aspect of the invention, the latch mechanism includes a latch clip having opposed structures which define an opening and a retainment area. The opposed structures are biased toward one another such that the opening has a default spacing equal to X. The spacing is expandable upon application of a force upon the structures in a direction from outside the opening toward the retainment area, but nonexpandable upon application of a force upon the structures is a direction from inside the retainment area toward the opening. A pin is moveable between a rest position in which the pin is aligned with the latch clip such that the pin is passed through the opening and retained in the retainment area and a position in which the pin is clear of the latch clip such that the tailgate may rotated relative to the bracket.
In another aspect of the invention, a stabilizer assembly extends between the tailgate and each of the brackets. Each stabilizer assembly comprises a receiver slot having an outer wall surface and a pin having a shaft and a head of larger cross-sectional area. The shaft is configured to be received in the slot with the head adjacent to and overlying a portion of the outer wall surface.